


Even when there is no star in sight

by jule1122



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alien/Mr. Jones drama, Established Relationship, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27983580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jule1122/pseuds/jule1122
Summary: They've been chasing after Mr. Jones for month.  Michael persuades Alex to take a break.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 21
Kudos: 94





	Even when there is no star in sight

**Author's Note:**

> sabrinachill requested #60 “Can we just pretend like we’re normal for once?” from the Drabble Prompt List and for once I knew exactly what I wanted to write.
> 
> Title from Guiding Light by Mumford and Sons

Michael slides the casserole into the oven and sets the timer before going to look for Alex. He heard the shower shut off over twenty minutes ago, but Alex still hadn’t come back out to the kitchen. He stops in his tracks when he gets to the open door of their bedroom.

Alex is sitting on the bed, towel wrapped around his waist and a clean liner on his stump. His prosthetic is propped up against the edge of the bed next to him. But what worries Michael is how he’s slumped forward, head resting in his hands with the heels of his palms pressed against his eyes.

“Hey,” he says softly, wanting to make sure Alex knows he’s there before he steps forward and rests a hand on his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

Alex looks up and gives him a weary smile. “I was just getting dressed.”

“I just put dinner in the oven so no hurry.”

“I’ll eat later,” Alex reaches for his prosthetic. “I need to go to the bunker for a few hours.”

“Not tonight,” Michael shakes his head and places his hand over Alex’s to stop him. In the soft light of the bedroom, the toll the last few months have taken on Alex is impossible to ignore. Michael looks him over, eyes lingering at the lines of exhaustion on his face, the sharp line of his collarbone that highlights the weight he’s lost, the still healing cuts and bruises from the last disastrous confrontation with Mr. Jones.

They have all been stressed and overworked since Mr. Jones reappeared just over two months ago, a year after slipping through their fingers, angrier and more devious than before. But unlike the rest of them, Alex couldn’t make any adjustments to his schedule so he was still spending long hours at the base before coming home and starting hours of research or tracking.

Maybe it seems harder because they had that year of peace. A year where he and Alex learned to love each other again and learned to live together for the first time. A year where they discovered Michael should be in charge of the kitchen, and since Alex found laundry soothing, Michael never had to worry about clean clothes. They had a year of Michael cheering for Alex at every open mic night and both of them heckling Kyle at Planet 7’s karaoke nights. A year where he and Alex planted a garden and talked about getting a dog.

And now it was strategy meetings where they argue about the best way to stop Mr. Jones. It’s Alex reading and rereading every file he has from Project Sheppard so no one else has to. Now they are looking over their shoulders and scheduling check ins with code words. It’s constantly wondering if the latest adjustment to the biometric tracking system Alex and Liz designed will finally be the one that gives them an advantage.

It’s only been a few months, but it feels infinitely longer than the year that came before it. Michael knows he’s as exhausted as Alex’s looks. They both need a night off.

“Michael, the sooner I go, the sooner I’ll be back,” Alex rubs his eyes again before sitting up straighter. “I just want to run some diagnostics on the tracking software. Make sure everything is running properly.”

“Why?” Michael asks quietly even though he wants to yell to Alex to just stop for once. “Are you going to change anything? Do you have a way to improve it?”

Alex presses his lips together and shakes his head. Michael hates seeing him so defeated. Another reason he needs a break.

“Then you’re not going.”

“I can’t stay here and do nothing. Isobel’s nightmares are getting worse. He was waiting for Maria outside the Pony the other night. We have to stop him.”

“We will,” Michael sits next to Alex on the bed and rests his head on his shoulder. “But not tonight.”

“Michael,” Alex starts to protest but shifts closer to Michael and leans his head against Michael’s. He lets go of the prosthetic and takes Michael’s hand instead.

“Not tonight,” Michael repeats. “Tonight let’s just pretend to be normal. We’ll eat dinner together and watch something stupid on Netflix. Then I’ll take you to bed and give you a good reason to come home before I fall asleep every night.”

Alex laughs, and even though it’s a little shaky, Michael counts it as a victory. He rewards Alex by turning his head enough to kiss his neck.

“I want to be here, Michael. I want to be with you every night, there’s just so much to do,” Alex squeezes Michael’s hand, but lifts his head to look up at the ceiling.

“Shh, I know, I’m not mad,” Michael soothes him, pressing more kisses into his neck and shoulder. “I just want tonight, Alex. We’ll fall asleep together, and then tomorrow we’ll get up and start fighting again, I promise. But we need one night for us.”

“Ok,” Alex agrees, and Michael can already feel some of the tension leaving Alex’s body.

Michael stands up and carefully removes the liner from Alex’s leg before placing it and his prosthetic in it’s normal spot. Then he takes off his belt and jeans before getting back in the bed. He stretches out behind Alex and pulls him down to lie next to him.

Alex twists and turns until he drapes himself along Michael’s side with his head resting over Michael’s heart. “This is nice, but what about dinner?”

“The casserole needs an hour in the oven. We’re just going to rest until then,” Michael says, already planning to turn the oven off from the bedroom before the timer goes off.

“Thank you,” Alex burrows closer. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Michael whispers. He gently strokes his hand down Alex’s back, matching the rhythm of his breathing as he falls asleep. “Sweet dreams,” he adds and settles in to keep watch.


End file.
